Author Description

Introduction to Soviet airborne forces, their weapons, equipment, aircraft, gliders, training, and combat operations against Germany and Japan. Contents: Introduction; Acknowledgments; Training; Uniforms, Equipment and Parachutes; Weapons; The Planes; Gliders; The Partisans; From The Beginnings to BARBAROSSA; The First Six Months of War and the Near Annihilation of the Soviet Airborne; 1942: The First Large Soviet Airborne Operation and the Conversion of the Airborne Corps to Rifle Divisions; 1943: The Last Major Airborne Assault; The Defeat of the Reich and the Soviet War Against Japan; Conclusion; Bibliography. 21 photos, 6 illustrations, 2 maps, 4 organization charts.